Welcome to Gaia! ::

Observe the humble centipede. Unlike the cricket, he does not jump; unlike the wasp, he cannot fly. Instead, he trundles along on 100 legs, each connected to a segment of his body. Each segment moves harmoniously, yet contains its own set of legs, its own shell and, some say, its own heart. Xue noted the harmony of the centipede; by its example, he was enlightened.

The Hollow Reed praises moderation; while the other paths describe themselves as storms or fires, the Reed speaks of emptiness given form. The sutra's title comes from the Dharmic ideal: to be like the reed, fed by water but filled with nothing, rooted in the ground but reaching to the sky.

The Way's name comes from its practice of living multiple lives to gain multiple insights. To maintain balance, the so-called "Rootless Trees" walk a thousand roads, each under a different name.

It's a long path to enlightenment, but then, vampires have nothing but time.

The Whispers do not believe that the Sixth Age is the end of creation. To them, it's a ritual death, one of many. Like the reeds rising from a riverbed, the Rootless Ones trust that when the storm ends, their flexibility will carry them through.

Other Dharmas will not survive. The cricket is drowned. The wasp is blown away. The centipede remains unharmed. The hollow reed still stands.

This path's disciplines love riddles and couch everything in symbolism. Some vampires claim that the Thousand Whispers write sutras for each blade of grass, and, while that's an overstatement, it captures the Way's perspective.

These Kuei-jin love to look at old things through new eyes, and do so literally at every opportunity. Talented shapechangers, the Rootless Trees shift gender, alliance, lifestyle and temperament with bewildering speed.

Each change, claim the sages, teaches a Whisper a little more.

The Whispering Way is the rarest of Dharmas, and with good reason: It's the hardest to maintain. Kuei-jin are neither balanced nor temperate. To offset their destructive natures, Whispers cultivate the Broken Mask technique - a multiple-personality path to Enlightenment.

While most people cling to their identities, the Rootless Tress take on different personas, then kill them off when all lessons appear to have been learned.

Since most lives tend to be full-time affairs, many vampires take on one or two personas at once, then stage tragic deaths and enter new roles.

Immortals as they are, the Whispers can experience the full range of human perspective and thus rise above any single view.

Naturally, such insight takes time. In the early stages of the path, a Whisper is pretty much like any other Running Monkey.

Their elders scold them and offer koans that demand a wider view. As they move through many lives, the vampire's vision broadens.

In time, they become like a find jade carving - precious in the rough, but smoothed into exquisite form by the sculptor's steady hands.

The key to the path is to be both sculptor and jade, to craft yourself into a work of art.

To follow the Whispering Way a Kuei-jin must continually die and be reborn. Every few years or so, they suffer a ritual "death," is buried and returns as a new person.

During their burial, the vampire enters a long trance, during which she meditates on the lessons of her past life.

Certain powerful Whispers project their soul into the spirit worlds while the body sleeps. The Kuei-jin's body remains in stasis, guarded by mortal friends or other Whispers.

The former are usually devoured when the vampire returns from their travels; the latter salute them and walk away as they emerge from the tomb.

Each time they "die," the Kuei-jin severs all ties to their past life; in time, they walk away from their wu and court as well.

In their breathing days, most Whispers were either fanatics for one cause or scattered among many. Neither path allowed them to learn their karmic lessons.

When the training begins, sifus ask impossible questions, then send their pupils out to seek the answers. Disciples are given three new identities by their masters, and these identities are as different as possible.

All the necessary skills are passed on through early training, along with funds, sutras, meditations and Kuei-jin manners.

When those three lives end, the disciple is on their own.

1. Live 1,000 lifetimes, each one different from the last.

The foundation of the Path of a Thousand Whispers, and the lesson is that we must make ourselves empty vessels, then fill ourselves again. As the hollow reed is used to make a flute, so must we use the emptiness inside to create beautiful music. Where other Kuei-jin seek the Road Back through experiencing part of their unloving nature to the fullest, we seek to balance those extremes and find wisdom in the mortal life we have left behind. Our ageless existence gives us the benefit of seeing life form every angle and every point of view. Why cling so fervently to one belief throughout the centuries?

This tenet is fulfilled through the Broken Mask Technique, in which we learn to take on different lives, experience them to the fullest, then kill them when the time is right and move on to a new life and new experiences, taking only the lessons of the old with us. We seek to make each new mask as different from the one before as possible, so we can experience everything our existence has to offer.

Each mask also contains a lifetime of moments, each one different from the one before. Over time, we come to appreciate the different experiences it has to offer. Many Hollow Reeds seek to make “perfect” lives, with none of the mistakes they made before taking the Second Breath. In time, they learn such perfection is doomed to failure because it is unbalanced. A life with no mistakes offers no lessons.

2. Learn what you can from each life.

Every mask has its lessons, and we strive to learn all that we can from them. Even ones seemingly mundane hold lessons to be learned. The key is in finding the wisdom within each and learning to heed it. Sometimes, the insight does not come until the life is over and in contemplation of the Dark Jade Lover. Only then can one see clearly, standing outside and looking back.

In some cases, the insight is not clear. The tenet admonishes us to learn what we can. Sometimes the lesson is that there is no lesson. As The Journey of a Thousand Steps tell us, “The mask is not a lesson. The life is not a lesson. Life is life. The lesson comes in the living.” A student who always keeps an eye out for a lesson has only one to see with.

3. Change as much as possible between breaths.

Change is at the heart of the path, moving from one life to another, from one moment to the next. Nothing remains the same. Even the still earth flows, and it is impossible to step into the same river twice. Rather than resist inevitable change, we embrace it and become a part of it. By swinging from side to side, we remain balanced in the centre, changing while the world changes around us.

The third tenet also refers to our changes from one life - one “breath” - to another. We make each life different and unique in order to learn from it. There is nothing to be gained in moving from one life to another that is exactly the same. Our balance is a dynamic one, embracing change, embracing action.

4. If you grow too close to something, kill it. It will only hinder you.

Wise men say if you meet the Buddha along the road, kill him, because the Buddha is not the way. These words are not the way. Only the way that cannot be described, only known, is the true way.

Attachments to anything else are like chains dragging us down, keeping us from following our path. Only when death is at hand, only when we embrace the Dark Jade Lover and look into the mirror to see nothingness reflected there, do we understand that life is an illusion and we are part of the nothingness within it. There is no love, no truth, no sadness, no pain, no life, no death, only the path. Anything that draws us from it must die for us to continue on the Road Back.

But the discriminating gardener pulls up only weeds, leaving the flowers. The wise man discriminates between high and low, the I Ching tells us. So the Wise Centipede learns what things are hindrances along the path. It is a lesson we each must learn, a lesson others suffer to teach us.

5. Turn your back on each life as you leave it.

Letting go of a life is even harder than breaking all ties with it. Once there were two monks seeking enlightenment. They came to a flooded river where a beautiful woman stood, unable to cross because the bridge had been washed away. The elder of the two monks offered to carry the woman across the river on his back, and she accepted. She lifted her kimono and wrapped her legs around the monk as he carried her across, then left her on the opposite shore. The monks continued on their way until the younger month finally spoke.

“Brother,” he said. “I do not understand. We are sworn to abstain from things of the material world, and yet you carried that woman, touched her flesh, felt her body against yours. How could you do such a thing?”

“Brother,” the elder monk replied calmly, “I left that woman back by the river, but it seems to me that you are still carrying her.”

Carrying things from one life to the next weighs us down until we can on longer walk the Road Back. That is why we must leave each life behind. We take nothing with us but the wisdom we have gained. All the rest is left behind on the shore of the river we have crossed.

6. Give when generosity is needed; take when theft is required.

This is the balance we strive toward throughout our many lives. The balanced Kuei-jin flows with the current of circumstance rather than fighting against it, able to manifest what is needed at the time rather than trying to force circumstances to fit a narrow view of things. Others say this makes us unpredictable, but that is not so. It is the way of Heaven that are often mysterious. We merely react to the changes happening around us, without guilt or remorse.

The only shameful act is to upset the balance of things because balance is the natural way. If it were not for the dance between Yin and Yang, the Middle Kingdom would not be. We Kuei-jin are made up of a balance of forces - Yin and Yang, Hun and P’o - and we must keep these forces in balance, lest we be torn apart by them and pulled from the path. That is not to say we do not experience the passions those forces represent. Quite the opposite, in fact. The Kuei-jin following the Storm of Inward Tempest espouse a stark philosophy of moderation and abstention, but we drink deeply of what each and every way has to offer.

But we understand that importance of balancing our indulgences with their opposite, like the Scarlet Queen balances the Ebon Dragon. I have felt the rage and hunger of a Devil-Tiger, debated virtue with Resplendent Cranes, listened to the whispering of ghosts in Bone Flower temples and danced and drank and loved with Thrashing Dragons. But I have allowed none of these paths to consume me, because they are not my path, only a part of it.

7. Pry open the eyes of the sightless and make the mute defend their wordless state. All beings must confront their choices, so question them as you pass.

The seventh tenet extends the precepts of the sixth, admonishing us to make others think about their state of balance and their place under Heaven. We pose questions and riddles to others that serve as mirrors like the one my master first showed to me. We ask them to look at themselves and consider what they see. More often than not, they do not wish to see and choose to cover the mirror of their self and avoid their reflection. We tear away the covering and force them to confront what they would turn away from.

It is not as crude as that, of course. We work through words much of the time, but there comes times when words are not as effective as actions, and the wise man recognises that time. Sometimes an action speaks louder than the mightiest shout, and sometimes, a whisper is more powerful than the sharpest sword. That is why a Hollow Reed can go from being a quiet philosopher to a raging demon. Such sudden change can, on occasion, crack even the cold disdain of a Bone Flower or the rigid discipline of a Resplendent Crane, giving them something to think about.

8. When something appears to be out of balance, correct it.If you cannot, destroy it.

The eighth and last tenet places balance as the greatest virtue we can seek. The fall of the Wan Xian resulted from their lack of respect for this principle, and it is our sacred duty to maintain the balance of things in the Middle Kingdom.

If something is out of balance, it is our duty to correct it, whether it is a conflict between the August Courts or disharmony within our wu. If the balance cannot be restored, then we must end the conflict. If the balance cannot be restored, then we must end the conflict. We must restore or break a wu torn by imbalance, but we cannot allow it to deteriorate further, perhaps falling into corruption and the manipulation of the Yama Kings. A mortal out of balance must be destroyed or else destroyed and allowed to return to the Wheel, to seek balance in their next life. Many Hollow Reeds devote themselves to strengthening a particular type of balance, such as the relations between the courts. This goal may be for a single mask, or it may continue through many lifetimes.

Following this tenet gives us a reputation for contrariness among our kind. “Whichever way the wind blows,” said Han Fu, “the Rootless Trees walks against it.” That is a limited understanding of this tenet at best. It is true that you are likely to see a Hollow Reed take the side of the weak, the waning, the lost against the powerful or the majority. That is because we seek to strengthen the marginal and weaken the powerful to achieve balance between them.

It is this devotion that makes us sought after as diplomats and negotiators, envoys to the Beast Courts and other shen that have dealings with the August Courts. A solution worked out by a Wise Centipede is certain to be the most balanced, even if it is not always to the satisfaction of all sides involved.

Of course, there is a danger of becoming so caught up in the quest for balance that we lose sight of its goal: harmonious existence under Heaven. Taken too far, the quest for balance can become an obsession, another chain holding us back from the path that must be broken before we can move on.

Walk The Spirit Path (Level-Two) – This rite allows a Kuei-jin to send her spirit into the worlds beyond the Wall, leaving her corpse behind in the Middle Kingdom. The body lies in a state of death, while the spirit wanders. If the spirit travels too long, the body may wither from lack of Chi.

This rite must be performed in a dragon nest. The seeker prepares a resting place for her body, inscribed around with ideograms, then lights incense to prepare the way for the spirit. The traveller lies own and sinks into a trance, her spirit separating from the body to enter the Mirror Lands. From there, she can travel on to the Yin or Yang Worlds.

The Folding Lotus (Level-Two) – The Path of a Thousand Whispers teaches that sometimes the only way to restore something to balance is to destroy it. Hollow Reeds use this rite to break the bonds they have formed with the members of their wu. Most Whispers do this as a final means of protesting what they see as unbalanced behaviour on the part of their wu-mates. Unlike the Way of the Lone Walker, this rite does not separate the Wise Centipede from Kuei-jin society; she is free to join a new wu, if she so wishes or the ancestors order it. The rite simply breaks the quanzi with an existing wu without any harm to those involved.

The Kuei-jin issues invitations to the members of her wu and to at least one elder, usually a mandarin of the court the wu belongs to or the elder responsible for establishing the wu, if he is available. If the wu has a nushi, the rite can only be performed with its permission. The Kuei-jin gather at an appointed time and place, and the Wise Centipede reads a poem explaining her reasons for leaving the wu, usually highlighting the root of the imbalance.

If the members of the wu choose to be rebuked and correct their behaviour, then the wu continues and no shame comes upon any of them. If they refuse to be moved, the performer of the rite draws a blade and passes it between her and each member of the wu, symbolically severing their connection. If the rite fails to sever the ties, it is taken as an indication of the will of Heaven, and the Wise Centipede seeks to continue to work within the corpse family.

Assume The Greater Mask (Level-Three) – In order to follow their Dharma, Hollow Reeds need the ability to live a thousand different lives. Even in ancient times, however, it was often difficult for Kuei-jin to do so without changing their appearance; in the modern world, it’s all the more difficult. This rite allows a Wise Centipede to create a new form with her new life, an alternate shape that she can assume in order to live a mortal life without suspicion.

The Wise Centipede must carefully craft an actual mask for her new persona and prepare it through meditation and purification with incense, taking a total of five nights. If the mask is properly prepared, it allows the Kuei-jin to take on a new appearance while it is worn. A Hollow Reed can only have one such greater mask at any given time. When the Kuei-jin ends that mortal life, she shatters the mask as a final part of the Ritual of a Thousand Cuts. The character can then perform this rite again and create a new greater mask, if desired.

Wear The Lesser Mask (Level-Three) – The Wise Centipedes are masters of disguise and often supplement their mundane skills with Disciplines like Bone and Flesh Shintai and rites such as this one. Wear the Lesser mask allows a Kuei-jin to change his appearance to that of another person. The Kuei-jin must make a mask resembling the desired form, then perform an hour-long ritual, meditating and focusing on the disguise. The Hollow Reed puts on clothes suited to the new form and dons the mask. He then shifts shape to appear as the desired subject, either an existing person or a completely new appearance crafted by the character.

Honour The Second Breath (Level-Four) – For the Kuei-jin, the Second breath is a rebirth, freeing their soul from Hell to continue on in the world of the living and fulfil its karmic debts. Some Hollow Reeds use this rite to make the Second Breath even more profound and leave behind all traces of their former lives, cutting all ties with the people they once were so they can walk their path unencumbered. This rebirth occurs well after the actual Second Breath, once the Kuei-jin is enlightened enough to know that his mortal memories are holding him back. Sometimes the character is only a hin, but most candidates are disciples.

The Kuei-jin desiring to undergo the rite petitions the mandarins of his court for permission. The Kuei-jin chooses a new name to represent the new unlife he is entering. He dresses in a plain white robe and appears before the ritualist, who performs the rite. The supplicant sheds his robe and steps into water - a pool, a river or even the sea - where the rite is completed.

When the Kuei-jin emerges from the water, all memories of his mortal existence are gone, washed away. He retains all his abilities and his knowledge of them but has no recollection of how or where he learned them. As far as the character is concerned, his memories begin with his time in Yomi. The ritualist greets the Kuei-jin by his new name, and he is known by the name henceforth. Referring to the mortal life of a Kuei-jin who has undergone this rite is a serious breech of etiquette.

Gather The Broken Mask (Level-Five) – Rootless Tree believe it is their duty to restore imbalances, including in some mortal lives, but sometimes, it is just not possible to rectify a truly unbalanced life. Normally, a Wise Centipede would destroy that mortal in order to protect the balance of things. However, the Discipline of Chi-iu Muh offers another option. The Kuei-jin devours the soul of the unbalanced mortal, taking it out of the Wheel of Rebirth. The Kuei-jin then takes on that mortal’s life and seeks to redress the balance directly. This is considered a serious responsibility among the Hollow Reeds, not undertaken lightly.

The Kuei-jin undergoes a ritual similar to the one of the rites of the Dark Jade Lover. After devouring the victim’s soul with the Chi’iu Muh ability of Spirit-Eating, the character enters a deep meditative trance to assimilate the mortal’s memories, taking the life as her own. If successful, the Hollow Reed gains knowledge of the mrotal’s life, enough to impersonate him and correct the imbalances he has caused. The Kuei-jin does not take on the mortal’s physical appearance, although she can use Assume the Greater Mask to do so.

The Ritual of A Thousand Cuts (Level-One) – The first preparatory rite of the Dark jade Lover involves severing the ties of the life which is ending. Ending a life in an orderly and proper manner takes considerable time and effort, which masters the Thousand Whispers Dharma believe focuses the student on understanding the lessons that life has to offer. Hollow Reeds perform the Ritual of a Thousand Cuts to begin the process of bringing a mortal mask to its conclusion.

The Hollow Reed must definitively break any and all ties her mask may have with mortal society: quitting her job, breaking off relationships, selling her home, giving away or destroying possessions and so forth. There is no set time for this, but it is considered appropriate to take as long as a year to complete the process. Any longer may be an indication of an inauspicious attachment to that life.

The Kuei-jin must avoid any unwanted attention during this time, as well-meaning friends and loved ones often try to intervene. Once all ties have been broken, leaving the Kuei-jin with nothing but the clothes he is wearing, the Wise Centipede removes the clothing and discards it, signifying his shedding of the old life like a snake sheds its skin.

The Ashes of The Phoenix (Level-One) – Contemplation of life’s lessons is an important part of the Path of a Thousand Whispers and is at the core of the second preparatory rite of the Dark Jade Lover. Wise Centipedes take time at the end of a mask to put what they have experienced and learned into writing (or to express them through painting, calligraphy or other forms of art). This usually takes several days of work. When the work is complete, the Kuei-jin burns it, signifying how the mask is consumed but the experience she has gained from it remains.

The Gentile Repose (Level-One) – The Gentle Repose is the simplest of the death rites, a relatively straightforward meditative trance. The Kuei-jin, having completed the Ritual of a Thousand Cuts and the Ashes of the Phoenix rite, lies down in a tomb or other secret places as if in death. The Hollow Reed meditates on the experiences and memories of the mortal mask, seeing what lessons there are to be learned from it and letting go of any remaining connections to that life, so only the wisdom and experience remain.

Hollow Reeds may experience visions and premonitions while in the Gentle Repose, and they may be visited by spirits that carry messages or knowledge for them. When the meditation is complete, the vampire rises up as in the Second Breath.

Center The Demon (Level-One) – The death rites of the Dark jade Lover all end with the Demon coming to the fore and the vampire entering Shadow Soul. While such a surrender of control might be inauspicious in other circumstances, Hollow Reeds see it as a necessary balance to the calm meditations of the death rites. Just as the Hun must integrate the lessons of the completed life in contemplation, the P’o must do so in action.

Once that period of Shadow Soul is complete, the vampire performs a brief rite to accept the actions undertaken by the Demon and learn from them. Most often this is quiet meditation, but it can take the form of prayer or even pranas, depending on the vampire’s training.

The Earth's Embrace (Level-Three) – The next most advanced death rite brings the Kuei-jin a step closer to the experience of ritual death through actual burial in the earth, where the Hollow Reed lies as if dead while meditating on the experiences and memories of life. Whispers undergo this rite to advance from disciple to jina, the achievement of ling.

The ritual includes funeral rites for the “deceased” and actual burial in the ground. Some Kuei-jin use Placate the Earth Dragon (•••Jade Shintai) to sink into the earth and remain there throughout the rite. Others are simply buried. The embrace of the earth is intended to be soothing and calming, helping the Kuei-jin achieve personal balance.

Embracing The Little Death (Level-Five) – Hollow Reeds undertake this advanced death rite when they progress to the rank of mandarin. They must face the actual death of the body and the separation of the spirit. The vampire willingly suffers the Little Death and takes the time while restoring her body to contemplate death and the experiences of the life she is leaving behind, This rite is terrifying even for experienced Kuei-jin, since True Death looms so close at hand. Masters of the Path of a Thousand Whispers believe facing death in such a fashion helps the student pierce the illusion of existence and overcome all fear.

The character chooses a method of demise that will lead to the Little Death. Elaborate death rituals are common, particularly among Japanese Kuei-jin. The vampire may perform the rite alone or in the presence of members of her wu and others, as desired. After the death rite, the vampire’s body is interred in a tomb.

The spirit separates from the body to haunt the surrounding Mirror Lands, allowing the Kuei-jin to commune with the spirits and other shen that dwell there. They may lead her on a quest through the spirit worlds that relates to her mortal mask in order to enlighten her about the lessons she must learn. Such visions may prove to be auspicious occasions for a Hollow Reed if they are particularly fruitful.